Lost and Found
by OrionM42
Summary: The Astraeus is lost and the fight to find them and bring them home begins. Post 4.20 "One Giant Leap". All characters. Adventure, drama, romance, family... it's a bit of everything. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1: Gone

**Chapter 1: Gone**

"_**Where'd they go?"**_

Jack's words hung in the air as an eerie silence fell throughout the Astraeus reactor room. He and Henry stared at the empty bay, transfixed in shock, until the sound of high-heels echoing through the halls shook them into consciousness. Senator Wen's face was terrified as she ran toward them. She looked at them, questioning wordlessly, but all she got in response was a small shake of Carter's head. Henry's eyes closed as he took a shaky breath. When he opened them again, they were changed, shock and terror replaced with a cold, hard resolve.

"Mission Control," he shouted, making everyone jump, "back to your posts. I want full diagnostics run. I want every record of every bit of data gone through with a fine-toothed comb. And then I want it done again. We _will_ find out what happened here and we will get them back!" He stormed off in the direction of the control room, brushing by a wide-eyed Wen as he did, his team scrambling to follow him.

As if Henry's declaration had sparked something inside of him, Carter pulled out his cell phone. He held a finger up to Wen as she approached him, stopping her in her tracks, before speaking into his phone. "Jo. There's been an accident. Astraeus is missing. Allison, too. I need you here. Now." He swallowed and closed his eyes against the emotion that was threatening to spill over. "Please, Jo," he said softly, and then hung up. He looked back at Wen who, he had to admit, seemed to be accepting his disregard for her authority rather well. "I'm sorry, Senator."

She waved him off, "No, I'm sorry for what happened. I truly am. I just wanted to tell you that I need to call my colleagues at the DoD, to let them know what happened." She sounded as if she was just as sorry for the phone call she was about to make as for the circumstances that were leading her to make it. "A failed mission is not going to go over too well. They might… They will probably send their own guys to come down here and head their own investigation. It won't be easy. I'm sorry." The last words were said in a near whisper and Jack believed her.

He nodded his understanding. "I need to get my deputy and inform the family members of the crew." Then with a stab to his chest, he remembered. _The kids. _Panic rose at the thought of them, and he ran past the senator and through the halls of GD. He arrived at his Jeep breathless and he forced himself to take a moment to catch his breath before he drove to SARAH. He would _not_ scare the kids, not when there was still hope. And he _had_ to have hope. _I can't lose her again_. Jack pulled out his cell once more, still trying to slow his breathing, and pushed the button for Andy. He closed his eyes as the phone continued to ring and couldn't help the harried tone in his voice when he left Andy a message. "I swear, Andy, if you're 'indisposed' with SARAH right now, I will find me a new deputy. Meet me at the office in twenty minutes." He hung up, climbed into the Jeep, and started what felt like the longest drive home in his life.

When he stepped into the house, he found Kevin and Jenna in the living room. She was giggling in his lap as he held a book in his hands. They both turned to look at him, though, when they heard the door.

Kevin's face fell slightly. "Hey Jack."

Jack tried to keep his tone light. "Hey…Kev. Have you seen Andy?"

Kevin shook his head and SARAH chimed in, "I have not seen or heard from Andy all day. I tried not to worry, though, as I thought he'd be busy with the mission."

Kevin looked at Jack worriedly. "What's wrong?"

Jack sighed. _Everything. _He sat on the couch next to Kevin and took Jenna into his lap. He took a deep breath, steeling himself for what he had to say.

"Something happened to the Astraeus ship. It disappeared, but it didn't go to Titan. And…and your mom, she was trapped inside." His voice broke, despite trying his hardest to control it. He watched Kevin's face as he tried to process what Jack had told him. Confusion, followed by fear, then anger.

Kevin's hands balled into fists. "We're going to get her back, right? You're going to save her." It wasn't a question.

Jack nodded. "We're going to do everything we can. We won't give up. I promise you." Kevin seemed to accept his answer, so Jack continued. "I need to find Andy. I'm going to go to the office and hopefully he'll be there. Will you be okay here with Jenna a little longer?"

"Yeah." Kevin's voice belied the confidence he was trying to, but Jack had to trust that they'd be okay.

SARAH's cool tones spoke softly. "I'll watch over them, Jack."

"Thanks, Sarah." He handed Jenna back to Kevin, kissing her on the forehead before hugging Kevin tightly and then heading out the door.

The sky had darkened and the air had chilled by the time he got to his office. Jack noticed Andy's car parked in front and he let out a sigh of relief. He stepped out of the Jeep, grumbling about unreliable robots, but his heart sank as he entered the building and flipped on the lights. Andy was there, but he was lying on the floor of the jail cell, locked inside. Jack ran to the cell door, fumbling with the keys until he could yank the door open.

"Andy!" He fell to his knees and started shaking the android, but to no avail. His deputy was shut-down. _Why doesn't he come with an 'On' switch? _Cursing, Jack stood up and reached into his pocket to call Henry, until he noticed a note lying on the lone piece of furniture in the cell. He stepped over Andy toward the cot and picked up the scrap of paper. It was a simple note, only seven words, but Jack found himself unable to comprehend them.

_I lost Astraeus. Please forgive me. –Andy_


	2. Chapter 2: Arrival

Allison slowly opened her eyes and unclenched her hands from where they'd held tightly to the chair, her knuckles protesting in response. She'd been expecting the roughest ride of her life, but then, she'd never expected to be there at all. Unbuckling herself, she looked around.

The stasis pods were beginning their arrival procedures. The gel, a truly ingenious invention by Dr. Parrish, would dissolve completely, drying itself off of each crew member before the pod would open. Allison knew the entire process would take about 10 minutes, so she slowly stood up and set about trying to figure out what had happened.

She knew that they weren't on Titan; the ride had been too smooth for that. And she knew that, somehow, they'd taken off much too early, which means the destination algorithm would have sent them somewhere else. _Probably in the middle of space._ She tried not to panic. Panicking wouldn't help anyone. The ship's lights slowly came on as she followed the halls toward the bridge. On the way, she tried one of the comm. transmitters, hoping to get a response from someone in Mission Control, but hearing nothing, she continued on. Of course, once she arrived, there wasn't much for her to do but wait. The bridge windows were shut, for safety reasons, and there were many indicators flashing. But without having gone through the extensive training the actual crew had endured, she really couldn't begin to guess what most of them meant. She didn't have to wait long, however, before she heard soft voices and footfalls behind her.

Grace was the first to arrive, and her eyes widened in alarm at the sight of Allison. "Allison! How on Earth did you get here?"

Allison sat down on one of the bridge chairs. "The ship launched early, and every attempt to abort failed. I could see Jack trying to overload the reactor core to stop the launch, but even that didn't work. And I don't know where we are, but it's not Titan. The jump was too…smooth."

Grace's eyebrows knitted together and she moved to sit at the front console, checking communications links and indicators while Zane and Holly followed close behind her.

Zane sat next to Grace, following her lead. "The artificial gravity hasn't come on. Unless the indicator is broken, we should all be floating."

Holly also spoke up from her position next to Allison. "And exterior readings are indicating normal levels of oxygen and nitrogen. I don't think we're in space at all."

"Are we there yet?"

Allison turned around to see Fargo and he jumped as he noticed her. "Allison! How did you get here?"

"Uh, guys," Zane interrupted, as he pressed the button to open the windows, "It looks like we're still at GD." And he was right. The Astraeus ship lights shone through the darkened space, highlighting the GD logo on the wall.

"We're still in the hangar," Grace said softly, "but something's not right. No one is answering in Mission Control."

Allison agreed. "Right before we left, the emergency signal lights were going off. Now…it's too dark and quiet." She looked back at Fargo. "Where's the rest of the crew?"

"Inventory," he stated simply. "I was giving out instructions before coming here. No one knows anything is wrong."

Grace stood up and took a deep breath, her face a mask of calm. "I'm going to go brief the crew. Zane, Fargo, grab the environmental scanners and start suiting up. Something strange is going on and I want to check things out outside, but I'm not taking any chances. I will meet you as soon as I'm done and you can help me with my suit." She turned back to Allison and Holly. "I need you both to stay here and let us know if any of these readings change or if the cameras pick up anything unusual. I'll send one or two more of the crew to join you."

Allison nodded her understanding and gently grabbed hold of Grace's arm. "Be careful. I think someone sabotaged the launch."

Grace pressed her lips together. "That's my best guess, too. Watch our backs." Allison squeezed the other woman's arm in reassurance before letting her go.

****

Fargo double checked the seal on Zane's helmet one last time. "Where do you think everyone is?" he asked, gesturing vaguely in the direction of where mission control would be.

Zane shrugged, though he knew Fargo couldn't see it through the bulkiness of his suit. "Who knows. Either something happened to all of them, too, when our launch was sabotaged –"

"_If_ it was sabotaged," added Fargo.

"Yes, if. Or, something even stranger is going on."

Grace entered the port behind them. "All indications are that we're still on Earth, at GD, but I want to take a good look at the outside of the ship and take some environmental readings. There has to be a reason no one has come to check on us." She grabbed a suit and the boys began the arduous process of helping her into it.

As they stepped out of the airlock and down the ramp, all environmental indications showed that there was nothing wrong. With a nod from Grace, Zane was the first to open his helmet shield, followed shortly by the other two when he took in a deep breath and smiled. "Smells a little funny. Kind of like my grandmother's basement. But it's breathable."

"Keep your comm. channels open," Grace said quietly. "Zane, would you check the perimeter? Fargo and I need to inspect the ship."

Zane nodded and turned away, deciding to head toward the reactor room where Allison had last seen the Sheriff. And then all hell broke loose.

WARNING: INTRUDER ALERT. WARNING: INTRUDER ALERT. EVACUATION PROCEDURES ACTIVATED. WARNING: INTRUDER ALERT. WARNING INTRUDER ALERT. EVACUATION PROCEDURES ACTIVATED.

The blue flashing lights were dizzying as Zane whirled back toward the ship, eyes wide. He had a moment to share a shocked look with Fargo before he turned back around at the sound of heavy doors opening and dozens of boots hitting the concrete floor. A formation of men in suits not unlike his own were coming toward him, guns drawn. Zane's hands went up instinctively; he knew when to fight and when it was smarter to back down. Three men stopped and grabbed him, pushing his hands into cuffs behind his back while the rest jogged past him toward the ship. _Three guys to take me, eh?_ The absurd thought brought a brief smile to his lips, and he jostled the guy to his left as they led him out the door they'd just entered from. He grinned. _Maybe you should have brought four._ The other man knocked him in the ribs with the butt of his rifle and Zane chuckled, but allowed himself to be pushed forward.

Behind him, two men each had grabbed Fargo and Grace and the three of them were being led to the newly built post-flight security sector, where the crew would have gone for decontamination after their return from Titan. The halls were otherwise empty and the sound of the warning siren along with the echoes of the men's boots was starting to give him a headache. Zane rolled his eyes as the sound of Fargo's voice rose over the din.

"I am the head of GD! Tell me what is going on! What do you think you're doing? Where is Henry? Tell me!"

As Zane suspected, no one answered Fargo and he continued his persistent demands until they were led into the decontamination room and locked into individual quarantine chambers. The armed men then simply turned around and began jogging back the way they had come from, leaving two behind to watch over them. Zane glared at them both. "If you try probing me, I'm suing." Then he sat down on the floor and set about trying to figure out what was going on.


End file.
